


Memento Mori

by Aesir_Wings



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU ish, Adrien and Chloé's childhood, Adrien has some problems with food, Casual Sex, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Chloé has abdonment issues, Chloé is a little ooc but it is explained, Chloé is a useless bi, Chloé knows the heroes identities, Chloé suffers a bit, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Félix and Chloé had a fling, If you guys beg enough i'll give a happy ending, Kwamis love Chloé, Ladybug visitis Chloé a lot, M/M, Marinette falls hard, Marinette got taller and devoloped a love for croptops, Marinette is flirty, Miraculous Holder Chloé Bourgeois, NEW LEGENDARY KWAMI, Sharing a Bed, She grew a backbone, Tikki is fucking tired, Vaellis is a little shit, kinda slow burn, plagg is trying his best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:14:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23778967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aesir_Wings/pseuds/Aesir_Wings
Summary: "You're different." She started, looking curiously at the blonde. "Three weeks away and you come back looking like this...""It took an epiphany." Chloé started, the Parisian lights reflecting in her blue eyes. "And a terrible fight with my best friend to realize how much I behaved like the person that I hate the most." She got up, balancing herself with an eerie grace of a ballerina in the roof railing. Ladybug rushed closer, afraid the girl would fall. "I need to change if I want to keep the ones I care about close to me."Her body swung with the wing and the ravenette almost had a heart attack. Chloé giggled, the sound taking her breath away."Will you catch me if I fall, Mlle. Ladybug?" She taunted, an almost playful smirk on her cherry glossed lips.The hero blushed as red as her suit."Well, look at you, Bug." Chloé tilted her head. "You blushed almost as hard as this girl in my class, Dupain-Cheng."
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Chloé Bourgeois, Chloé Bourgeois & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Chloé Bourgeois/Félix Graham de Vanily, Chloé Bourgeois/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 14
Kudos: 112





	Memento Mori

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an AU ish story, most of the canon events happened, but Chloé was never Queen Bee and the other changes will be explained when needed.
> 
> The characters are a bit older, and their personalities will also be a bit different, but nothing drastic.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this new journey with me!
> 
> AN: None of the Chinese mythology and culture is correct in here, I got most things from my imagination and not actual real sites.

#  Never Follow the Sounds

The decision to spend all summer away from Paris was Chloé's idea, a desperate one although in the beginning, she was hoping for a five-star hotel in Hawaii, she certainly didn't expect to visit her uncle Bertrand Bourgeois who was currently working in China.

Look, Chloé actually likes history, she likes knowing about the past - even if she refused to let others know that fact about her - and was extremely curious about the origin of things. So the few times she met Bertrand in her restrict childhood the blonde would torment the men questioning about his adventures as an archeologist. But she wasn't with high expectations when the men invited her to accompany him on one of his fieldwork in a newly discovered temple.

Chloé was going to refuse, but then she remembered promising to change, to try new experiences before going to a new boarding school in England at the end of the school year.

So then the packing began.

~*~

Uncle Bertrand still had the same side smile and warm honey eyes that instantly transported her to her childhood. He was younger than her father and religiously maintained his fit physique. He hugged Chloé and messed her blonde strands out of her ponytail and she almost didn't mind but still couldn't keep the small frown to appear.

"Look at you, abellie, all grown up!" He put an arm around the girl's shoulder. "The last time I saw you, you barely reached my waist."

"That was so long ago, uncle..." The two walked around the airport, Chloé answering some messages from Adrien, assuring the friend that she had landed well and would give more news as soon as she could. Even after the fight he was still worried about her and her chest warmed a little at the thought, maybe they still could fix their friendship.

"But I see that some things have not changed." He pointed to the yellow sweater and sneakers she wore, as well as the bags.

Chloé bit the inside of her cheek, "Some things will never change, I guess." And then the teenager noticed that they were not going in the direction that the signs pointed to as the exit from the building. "Where are we going, uncle?"

"To a private hangar, abellie." He brushed the blond hair that was beginning to turn gray from his eyes. "The access to the temple is difficult, so we will take a helicopter to Base 1."

Chloé adjusted the designer purse she wore, the thought of sending a message to her father informing her of her arrival arrived quickly but was soon forgotten when she saw the excitement in Bertrand's eyes. "Where exactly is this temple, Uncle Bertrand?"

"In the mountains, abellie!"

~ * ~

When Chloé finally saw the mountains, she could not contain the sigh that so badly wanted to escape her lips; she opened her cell phone and took a picture with the thought of sending it to Adrien, even though she knew he probably would have no connection and they were not on good terms. The green vegetation covered part of the rocks and the top of the mountain was so high that it was covered by some clouds, however, she did not see the temple and looked at Bertrand in confusion.

The archaeologist smiled in amusement, Chloé had received so many smiles since she landed that couldn't help but be a little stunned.

"It's inside the mountain, dear!"

The helicopter started to circle the mountain and the blonde had to grab tighter at the ear protectors she used to listen to her uncle.

Bertrand pointed to the foot of the mountain, "That is Base 0, this is where our shipments arrive, which are then routed by electric tracks to the camp, Base 1, which is right there." He then guided the Frenchwoman's gaze to where she could see some tents above half of the peak. "The camp is a short distance from the entrance to the temple, but I don't think you'll be able to see it from here."

Chloé's eardrums harbored a slightly static noise, but she refused to show any weakness. They landed at the camp and as soon as the shoes touched the ground she stopped to admire the view around. And when Bertrand guided her through the tents - because it was almost dark and she needed a decent place to rest - Chloé bit her tongue to restrain herself from shouting that she refused to stay on less than the best and bigger tent they had there.

Luckily for her, uncle Bertrand knew her well.

~ * ~

A coworker from Bertrand, Vanessa, gave her a short tour of the camp, explaining the function of some specific tents and the people who worked on the research. Those who handled the most dangerous equipment and the security guards at the site used vests or credentials according to their function.

It was only later when her uncle finally took her to the temple's entrance. They climbed the rest of the mountain with the electric tracks but Chloé was grateful to have bought an entire wardrobe with pieces suitable for the occasion, unfortunately having to give up some designer pieces.

They arrived in a flat ground part and got out of the carts. Even though it was summer, the altitude influenced the weather, the winds were colder and a mist covered the vibrant green vegetation.

"It's right there." Bertrand spoke to his niece, who noticed a common entrance arch in Chinese temples, but it was made of stone and wood, with an ancient appearance and even a little precarious; when they passed under it she noticed that it was painted in the past by the small remnants of paint on the wood.

Beneath the arch was the entrance to a cave, it was dark and large but the artificial lights installed by the team illuminated the path.

When they left the tunnel, the breath caught in the French girl's throat. The interior was hollow, and the mountain walls circled the huge monument, at the top there was an opening in the peak that let a little sunlight in and reflect on the tiles of the temple that extended until close to the natural opening. The monument was clearly not in its best days and some parts were falling apart, it appeared to be four stories high and had a quadrangular base. Researchers were everywhere with their strange equipment, along with the security team who analyzed which parts of the building were safe.

Chloé never imagined being in such a place before.

"C'mon C'mon!" Bertrand encouraged her to go closer.

A well surrounded the perimeter of the temple and a curved wooden bridge seemed to grant passage to the entrance, internally the blonde wondered if it was as firm as it looked after so many years without being used.

"Look," The archeologist pointed at the mountain wall and Chloé turned her chin in the direction he mentioned. "The water in the ditch comes from the snow that melts on top of the mountain and the moisture retained between the layers of stone, depending on the season the water volume changes."

Chloé looked around at the tents near the tunnel, "Were you able to find many artifacts?"

"Yes, yes! We are starting the cataloging process but for the time being, we are only taking pictures of everything before we start moving them around."

Vanessa started to guide her to one of the tents, "Come on, you're going to need some protective gear before you enter."

"Do I get a walkie-talkie?"

Uncle Bertrand gave her one of his boyish similes that made a small one, but genuine after a long time, rise in her face.

"I think you deserve the walkie-talkie."

~ * ~

The monument consisted of four floors and a spiral staircase in the middle that connected them. Adjusting the protective helmet, Chloé noticed that her uncle was busy talking something important with his colleagues and was not paying attention and decided to wander around. She came closer to the stairs and noticed that the circumference that the stairs generated the floor was not on the same wooden boards as the rest of the temple's first floor. It was a stone in a perfect circle on the floor.

The blonde came even closer to observe the scriptures and drawings on the stone.

It was a bird, its wings outstretched with remnants of black and blue inks that have worn away over time. In the bird's chest originated some streaks that stretched in curved patterns and some shaped ones by the wings; at the animal's feet was a humanoid figure, probably a woman for the garments she wore, Chinese letters occupying the rest of the rock's surface.

Chloé looked around, wanting an explanation of what it meant, but everyone around her looked busy. She turned to the stairs, but there were security tapes preventing her from climbing on it or getting close to the stone circle. A strange feeling arose in her chest, it seemed  _ wrong _ to have all those people over there analyzing every little thing present. They weren't supposed to be here.

Then she straightened her stance and hardened her eyes, "Hey!" She caught the attention of her uncle's assistant, who ran towards her. "What does this design mean?" She inquired.

Eleonor straightened her glasses nervously, "These logograms speak of a sacrifice that took place on this mountain centuries ago and of how a young woman sacrificed her soul for the lives of others." She looked at the papers in her folder, "We haven't yet decoded all the writings, but Dr. Roberts is almost there."

Chloé crossed her arms, a little dissatisfied by the lack of complete information. "And the drawing, then?"

The woman looked confused. "Drawing?"

Bourgeois' eyebrows furrowed, "Yeah, the design in the center of the stone."

"The letters are not drawings, Mlle. Bourgeois."

The blonde was about to hit when her blue eyes fell on the clipboard the woman was holding. Chloé took the woman's object and analyzed the printed photo which, from the angle taken at the foot of the stairs, had a clear view of the stone circle, which only had the scriptures in Chinese and a void in the center.

Chloé took a deep breath and turned her chin to the side, her eyes falling on the bird's notch. Vanessa followed her gaze and noticed nothing new if taken her expression. The teenager just mumbled something that she didn't care to remember and turned around, walking to the temple entrance as if nothing had happened.

That was when she heard the pulse.

_ Tump tump, tump tump, _ like a heartbeat. Chloé petrified in half a step, slowly turning her head to see if anyone else was listening but everyone went about their tasks normally. She swallowed and refused to look at the source of the sound, forcing her feet to return to the original route.

She left the temple, but the sound hardly faded, Chloé passed over the bridge, following her reflection in the ditch water out of the corner of her eye. When reached the tunnel's entrance to get out of the mountain, she interrupted her walk, the  _ Tump Tump _ still in her eardrums; took a deep breath and then headed for the darkness.

All he wanted at the moment was to hear her friend Adrien's voice.

~ * ~

Chloé Bourgeois spent the following nights waking up in the middle of the night covered in sweat, a scream stuck in her throat and the pulse haunting and clinging to her being.

And when Bertrand asked her if she preferred to stay at camp, Chloé accepted with the excuse of wanting to stay with the team in the makeshift laboratory tent, avoiding thoughts about birds and mysterious legends.

~ * ~

She relented after a week of interrupted nights.

Now, standing in front of the tunnel dimly lit by the expedition's artificial lights, Chloé wondered what was wrong with her. She grabbed the coat she wore over her pajamas, stepped into the darkness in hesitant steps and when she reached the bridge that would lead to the temple entrance she looked up. The oval opening at the peak of the mountain was a gateway to the moonlight that fell pale on the temple's roof.

The  _ Tump Tump _ grew louder with each step.

When the stairs were finally seen, a chill ran down her spine, she looked at the bird's drawing on the stone that almost seemed to mock her. Determined, Chloé went under the security tape and crouched down, putting the flashlight aside.

"Hmm..." She hummed after realizing that between the stone and the wooden floor there was a space of width of her finger, she then put her hand on the stone and pressed down. Nothing much happened, but she noticed something. "It's loose ..." she murmured to herself.

She got to her feet and walked to the stairs that rose around the stone, an tentative hand gripping the dusty wooden railing, she contained a grimace.  _ Tump Tump, Tump Tump _ .

"I can't believe you're about to climb a centuries-old wooden ladder, Chloé." She went up the first two steps but flinched when hearing a creak. "And to think that I didn't even write my will." Went up even more.

When she reached the first floor she did not leave the stairs and used the flashlight to look around. Nothing interesting but things dusty from time until something hit Chloé's eyes.

The light from the flashlight hit a strange type of mirror and the blonde leaned more to see better, it was circular, but part of the glass was tinted black, leaving only the edges not tinted. Chloé looked more around the stairs, nothing interesting.

_ Tump Tump _ , Chloé's jaw clenched, irritated by the pulse.

The blonde continued to rise, finally reaching the second floor, it was smaller than the previous one, but this was common in Chinese temples. The light from the lantern ran around until an irritating reflection hit her face again; another mirror, however, it was not in the same place as the first. This one was also round and had part dyed black, the unpainted portion was larger than the other one and the image of the distorted smile of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland instantly came to Chloé's mind.

The sound grew louder as she rose. She reached the third and penultimate floor, which was even smaller than the second. This time the new mirror was facing the girl and Chloé analyzed it, the black part of the mirror was the same as the last floor, but it was on the right side of the mirror, unlike the other.

She opened her sapphire eyes and realization came with a sharp intake of air.

_ The mirrors were the phases of the moon. _ The first was the new moon, with only a white thread, the second was crescent and this was the waning moon.

_ Tump Tump, Tump Tump _ . The girl went up another step to go to the top floor and the wood broke, her foot crossed and the wood scratched the skin of her leg. In her desperation, the flashlight slipped from her hand and would have dropped meters down until it crashed to the floor had Chloé not kicked the object to the top steps.

She breathed erratically, her heart beating fast, almost making a noise louder than the pulse echoing in her mind.

"I can't believe I'm going to die without telling Adrikins that I know his secret." The blonde whimpered, gripping the dusty handrail even more, which totally as safe as the stairs.

The fourth floor was quite small, and the staircase continued to the ceiling. Chloé turned with the flashlight 360º but there was absolutely nothing but dust and cobwebs in the place. She sighed irritably and scratched her head, taking the blonde strands that fell on her eyes with her fingers.

She barely noticed, but when the flashlight went up she saw something on the ceiling. She looked again.

It was the handle of a small door, which seemed to slide to the side. She managed to reach without much effort, but failed to open on the first attempt. After many grunts, the wood slipped and Chloé lost her balance, grabbing the handrail that creaked as she looked directly at the floor below her where the stone with the bird's design was. Chloé swallowed before finally looking up, the full moon reverencing her through a curved glass.

The four main phases of the moon.

Everything happened so fast from that moment. A single ray of silver light passed through the glass, being directed to the mirror of the waning moon, and then to that of the crescent moon and then to that of the new moon, directly reflecting a ray in the bird's chest.

The lines embedded in the stone shone a phosphorescent blue and it began to slide sideways. Chloé went down as fast as she could, trying to be cautious and when she reached the floor she had a shallow breath. The stone had slid into the wooden floor, opening a passage to the underground. the sound in her ears was deafening and she only wanted it to  _ stop _ .

The teenager looked down. "Wonderful, more stairs." Was said bitterly. She cast a guilty look at the temple entrance, realizing that the right thing would be to call Bertrand.  _ Huh _ , she thought,  _ it wouldn't be the first time that I would ignore common sense anyway. _

During the descent, Chloé's left hand held the lantern while the other pressed against the cold stone wall, there were only infinite steps and the void she would not want to fall into, there was the need for carefulness at max level. Sighting in relief when the light from the flashlight hit the bottom step, but the moment her feet touched the ground a blue light flashed through the room.

They were flames, which followed two channels full of what she imagined to be a type of oil, the two flames seemed to be racing on the sides of the place until they met on the horizon, illuminating everything.

"Wow." Chloé exhaled, after the small corridor was a huge chamber, with the ceiling so high that it was not reached by the light. The place was full of artifacts, the vast majority of pure gold, the walls were full of scriptures and drawings but the blonde was unable to assimilate much.

The one thing in the middle of the room caught her attention.

Chloé's body seemed to be out of control, as she started walking towards what appeared to be a high altar with a kind of ark in the middle, full of drawings and symbols that Chloé did not understand. She climbed the steps and crouched down to get a better look, the light from the flashlight reflecting off the surface made the drawings look alive.

She stood up and noticed that the lid of the big chest was not locked.

"Maybe I can open it ..." Murmured and surveyed her surroundings. "Bingo!" She exclaimed when he found an object that was probably valuable but could also be improvised like a crowbar.

The lid didn't even move in the first few attempts, and Chloé's frustration grew even more when she realized she was already sweating with the effort and the  _ Tump Tump _ was getting clearer and clearer.

_ Ah, what I wouldn't give to be in a jacuzzi in Hawaii right now. _

The noise of the lid finally rubbing was like the singing of angels to her ear. The blonde then decided that she could push the rest with her hands.

The result came in the form of a broken nail and curses that would make Dupain-Cheng blush. She opened the ark only to find it was a grave.

"Aahh!" She screamed and fell backward, almost descending from the stone altar. The sound stopped and she almost felt relieved. "I thought it was the Egyptians who liked catacombs." She murmured, irritably.

What gave it away? Maybe the smell or, I don't know, the skeleton inside it. Sigh, she now definitely regretted leaving the tent in the middle of the night.

She took courage after a few moments, got to her feet and, suspiciously, took a quick look inside the grave. Amid the thin bones of the individual who probably lived a long time ago, a bluish glow as coming out, Chloé used the improvised crowbar to poke until the object came into view.

The blue light illuminated the Frenchwoman's face and she dropped the crowbar, which fell to the floor with a noise that echoed through the chamber. It was a crystal, black as the night sky, but its core was an indigo that shone like the light of the full moon above the mountain; it was in the form of a prism and no bigger than the blonde's pinky, its tip was wrapped in a leather strap.

Without thinking straight, Chloé reached out, again ignoring common sense. The moment her fingertip touched the icy surface of the crystal, a black shadow took over her vision.

~ * ~

Chloé's torso rose from the bed as fast as a bullet, her chest rose and fell hard and her dry lips begged for water. The covers fell from her body and it was when she realized that her right hand was grasping something with an iron grip, Chloé didn't even have to open her fingers because the blue light was fading almost tauntingly.

The blonde swallowed, bringing her wrist in front of her face, letting the leather cord unwind and the black and indigo crystal waving like a pendulum before her eyes.

She didn't remember anything that happened after opening the grave. She knew,  _ knew _ deep in her being that she had seen or even dreamed of something the moment she touched the necklace, yet the more Chloé tried, the less she was able to piece together her thoughts.

Chloé couldn't go back to sleep and stared at the damn crystal until the first rays of sunlight touched the mountain camp and the sounds of the team waking up interrupted her reasoning.

She dared not tell anyone, hid the necklace in the bottom of her suitcase and when she returned to the temple accompanied by Bertrand later that day it was as if the passage had never been opened.

~ * ~

Three days later she boards a plane to Greece, falsifying a fax from her father's office addressed to Bertrand was not the most difficult thing she did. Her father continued to think she was in China and her uncle called her almost four times a week to check on her.

Chloé took advantage of tourism, beaches, and comfort in one of the family's hotels for days, not paying attention to the beginning of classes. She saw the strange necklace only once when the employees were unpacking her suitcase, Chloé took it by the leather ribbon and tossed it in the bottom of the small table drawer in the suite room.

She didn't dare think about the strange dreams that interrupted her sleep and the fact that she knew where the necklace was as if it were a beacon in a dark night.

~ * ~

When the blonde returned to Paris she had already missed the first week of school, her cell phone was shaking with messages from Sabrina and a single call from Adrien. Their fight seemed like yesterday, sharp words adorned with poison were said, tears spilled on both sides. They both grew up together and understood each other like no one else, but the discussion was, in a way, needed to understand that things are not the same as in the old days when Chloé's only concern was smuggling sweets into the boy's room and Adrien, who just wanted to make his best friend happy.

They are sixteen now, and the beauty of the world becomes increasingly difficult to see when alone.

Chloé feels alone for a long time, and doesn't know how to stop.

~ * ~

There are three framed photos in Chloé's suite.

Two blond children together, a girl with sapphire eyes adorned with glitter and a boy with emerald eyes, dressed in dance clothes and embraced with exhilarating smiles over breathless breaths. The last ballet performance that the two had together, Giselle and Albrecht. This was next to the Bourgeois' bed.

A selfie of Chloé and Sabrina, the redhead with an open smile while the blonde, not far behind tried to make a mean face, even though her eyes were shining with amusement in the same shade as the blue sky that sunny day at the park.

The third did not bring happy memories,  _ no _ , it did not exude the same warmth, the same tenderness as the other two captured moments. The façade of the photo was a happy family, father, daughter, and  _ mother _ who had a hand on the girl's shoulder and instead of passing security, it gave a command, an order. Chloé's smile was strained painfully, back stiff and eyes as cold as ice. This photo was the largest of the three, framed in the same color as molten gold in the center of the only colorless wall in the blonde's suite.

On the night of the fight, after the Agreste boy left, his face red and the bang of a door slamming to hide his sobs, Chloé didn't have to turn around to feel Audrey's eyes burning on the back of her neck, because even in a photograph the woman haunted her. Enraged and with the blood flowing so hard that she could hear it pulsing, Chloé marched to the frame, heavy with the fakeness that emanated, and threw it at the door, over and over until it tore and the edges shattered like fragile glass. As fragile as she felt.

The following night she was on a plane to meet her uncle Bertrand in an almost impulsive decision.

~ * ~

The students noticed Chloé's absence in the first days of school, and when they asked Adrien the boy shrugged with a smile on his face,  _ 'You know Chloé and her famous fancy vacations', _ he would say,  _ 'She's probably enjoying the Caribbean sunshine right now.' _

None of them noticed the furrow of brows after those words, of the way he would clasp his hands so tight they would turn white.

All except for Marinette.

It was the end of the week when she took the courage to question her friend, the class was over but he continued to write furiously on paper, without noticing the rest of the students leaving while they talked about the plans for the weekend, Fridays always got them excited.

Marinette adjusted the bag on her shoulder while watching the blonde. With a sigh, she decided to finally approach.

"Are you all right, Adrien?" She asked, hesitantly.

The boy blinked in a daze, lifting his face to look at his friend.

"Oh, hey Marinette." He said softly, he then blushed when looking around and seeing that even Mme. Bustier had left the class. "I think I indulged myself so much and ended up not even realizing that the class is over."

The brunette noticed that he hadn't answered her question, and then her eyes fell on the sheet of paper on which he looked so busy writing on.

_ Adrien & Chloé's Adventure List _ , was written with bright colored pens.

"What is this?" Marinette hoped she hadn't offended him with her curiosity.

"Oh that," Adrien admired his work, "It's just some plans for things I want to do with Chloé before-" His words got stuck and he swallowed dry, no one but him and Sabrina knew the blonde would go for a new school at the end of the year in England. He cleared his throat in embarrassment, "Before the school year is over." He started to gather his things, knowing that the Gorilla would be waiting for him at the school entrance and that any delay would be reported to Natalie.

The heroine shifted her feet nervously, "It sure looks cool, but... Are you sure you're okay?"

Adrien stopped, and this time he didn't hide the sad gleam in his green eyes. "I will." And then he threw the backpack over his shoulders. "I will be," I said with more certainty.

"See you next week, then." She walked to the door before turning around, "And Adrien," His head shot up to look at her, "If you ever want to talk I'm only a call away." She smiled at him, tilting her head.

"Thank you, Marinette." He clutched the notebook with the list more tightly.

~ * ~

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are appreciated! And hey, it might still be a bit confusing but these mysteries will be explained! Pardon any spelling errors, I am still not fluent.
> 
> What do you guys expect to happen next? I love reading theories!
> 
> See you guys next chapter, until then!


End file.
